In this beautiful new PSA addressing implicit bias, we're reminded about love's power to cross any and all perceived boundaries.
The PSA is just one part of a new year-long campaign about implicit bias. "Most of us aren’t even conscious of our prejudice," the campaign's website explains. "That’s why it’s called implicit bias."
Visit lovehasnolabels.com to learn more, get [...]

His Holiness the 17th Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje, will soon be embarking on a limited US tour that will see him visiting at several universities, including California's Stanford University. This will be His Holiness's third visit to the States. We have confirmed the following tour dates:
Date
Program
Venue
Tuesday, March 17, 5:00 P.M.
Caring Connections: [...]

Upaya Zen Center has appointed Joshin Brian Byrnes, the center's president, as vice-abbot. Byrnes is a student of the center's abbot, Roshi Joan Halifax. Byrnes will oversee the daily operations of the center, including financial oversight, program planning, communications, and development activities. [...]

As aid worker Kayla Mueller is mourned around the world, the Tibetans with whom she volunteered are offering prayers and condolences. Mueller, a 26-year-old American, was abducted in Syria in 2013 by Islamic State militants, and held hostage for eighteen months. Her death was confirmed this week.
A committed Christian, Mueller was also deeply influenced by Buddhist [...]

It would seem that Jon Stewart now has a plan for what comes next after he steps down from The Daily Show. The operative word here, of course, is seem. Stewart opened last night's show with the quip, "Many of you know I recently announced I was gonna be leaving the show to join a monastery."
He also mentioned that he's learned more about what "moment of Zen" means. (Though, [...]

Ruth Denison, the pioneering Buddhist teacher and subject of the documentary-in-progress reported on here recently, has died. Denison was in ill health, having suffered a serious stroke and entering hospice earlier in February.
Her Dhamma Dena community website, which has been sharing updates since the stroke, has posted a brief update about her passing:
Ruth passed away [...]

It was a big story: NBC cameraman contracts Ebola in Liberia. He was flown to the U.S. for treatment, and there was national relief when he recovered. Few noted the significance of his unusual name: Ashoka—the first Buddhist king of India—and Mukpo—family name of the famed Buddhist teacher Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche.
Journalist Ashoka Mukpo is the son of Lady Diana Mukpo, widow [...]

Following the statement shared here on February 19 from Sister Chân Không, Thich Nhat Hanh’s closest collaborator, a new update on the Zen master's health has been issued by his Plum Village community. It reads, in part:
"We are very happy to report that our dear Teacher continues to steadily make extraordinary progress.
"Thay has now moved to a specialist stroke [...]

A new study reports that when people are exposed to Buddhist concepts, they show more prosocial behavior and tolerance of outsiders.
Research has shown that when people are exposed to concepts from monotheistic religions they show more prosocial behavior within the group, but less tolerance for those outside—for anyone who is somehow “different."
It’s a strange paradox – [...]

UNESCO has revealed the winning design for a cultural center to be located near the the famous Bamiyan Buddha statues destroyed by the Taliban in 2001. All that remains of the statues, today, are two massive cavities in the cliff. The Shambhala Sun article, "Buddhist Treasures of Afghanistan," describes the rich, diverse history of the region, giving context to the destruction [...]